Ravindra Jadeja and Ishant Sharma grabbed wicket apiece in the opening session of the final day to take India to a closer to a possible winning situation.

Resuming at overnight score of 23/2, Matt Renshaw, who remained not out after the eventful 7.2 overs of play yesterday, walked out to bat with new man Steve Smith.

Australia, at lunch, are now positioned at a bothersome 83 for 4 and are left with a tedious task of gaining a lead over India’s lead of 152 runs and setting a target. However, for quite obvious reasons, the priority would be to play out the entire day’s play and culminate with a draw.

The batting duo looked firm and batted diligently for the first half of the session. The hyper defensive approach and the pace at which they were scoring runs indicated that the two batsmen were set to go through the session without any trouble.

Jadeja kept a tight lid over the opposition fight from the start of the session. The effect of his bowling has been such that thus far he has bowled 9 maidens in his 18 over spell including two wicket maidens. Australia would be wary of him and the biggest threat at the moment ahead of the tea session is no one other the left arm spinner.

A part of their ability to save the Test will depend on how they fend off Jaddu in the remaining session. Any mindless mistake, like the one which Smith committed to bringing his downfall, would result in a quick wrap up. Renshaw and Smith somehow managed to survive and kept going. However, after 21.2 over of patience, Australia finally lost their plot as both the duo departed in consecutive overs.

A fired up Ishant Sharma set up Renshaw with a bouncer and followed with a full-length delivery to trap him leg before wicket. Smith tried the padding tricks inspired from Pujara’s marathon knock but ended making a fool out of himself to get clean bowled. These two blows made India’s session turn productive and has opened up the chances of getting Aussies out early.

Sportzwiki is one of the fastest growing sports websites in India, Asia and in the world. It is a sports website to connect you to all the latest happenings in the world of sports with news and opinion based articles from various sports.